Posts Tagged: emotional attachment

Sweatering the Memories

29, Sep 2010

After a live call-in show on CBC’s BC Almanac with Susan McNamee, a listener called in with a dilemma — her husband’s sweaters. We talked about “Sweatering the Memories” – a play on the phrase “sweating the small stuff.” To be exact, the listener was concerned about the sweaters that… Read more

Organizing Small Spaces

29, Jan 2010

My friends in Vancouver have been talking non-stop about the latest real-estate innovation to hit our expensive city: micro lofts. They are only 270 square feet of compact urban living – roughly the size of two parking spaces. In a city with some of the most expensive real estate in… Read more

Value Comes in Two Forms: Functional and Emotional

23, Nov 2009

I’m often asked, “As a professional organizer, is it easier for you to let things go? You must not have any junk or knick-knacks because you’re the expert in getting rid of clutter.” That’s mostly true, but not the whole story. Value comes in two forms: functional and emotional. We… Read more

Unclutter Your Life and Get Out of Chaos

28, Apr 2008

It’s time to get out of chaos! A poorly-functioning, disorganized office isn’t just a stressful place to work; it’s a health hazard. And the costs are adding up. Starbucks spends more on healthcare than on coffee beans. General Motors spends more on healthcare than steel. Part of that big health… Read more

Uncluttered Space = Uncluttered Mind

01, Sep 2007

Uncluttered Space = Uncluttered Mind was written by Katherine Gibson and originally published in Canadian Living. Declutter Your Closets My friend Maggie is a hoarder. Her tiny Winnipeg bungalow is filled to the rafters with every homemade card, piece of art and dollar-store gift her children ever gave to her…. Read more

Professional Organizer Has A Clear Conscience

16, Feb 2007

Professional Organizer Has A Clear Conscience was written by Michael Kissinger and was originally published in The Vancouver Courier. Linda Chu is one well-organized woman. How organized? For starters, she has a box in her fastidiously tidy Granville Street office that’s labelled “Broken Picture Frames” – whereas most people, like… Read more

Combat the What-if Syndrome

21, Jul 2006

Clutter is the one thing that crosses all social and economic boundaries. It does not discriminate. Whether you are the CEO of a company or a mom with triplets, your stuff can still clutter the spaces you work or live in. While working with individual clients and helping them to… Read more

NO – You Are Not the Worst

17, Jan 2006

The most common question I am asked by my clients is whether they are the most disorganized person I have worked with. The answer is: No – You are not the worst. I belong to a national association, Professional Organizers in Canada and as a member of the BC Chapter,… Read more

Excess vs Access

07, Sep 2005

When do your piles of information and possessions cease to inform and be useful, and instead become an anxious burden? The answer: when you have too much excess and can’t access what you need. Some like to call them piles of organized chaos. Stuff is stuff, I say, whether we… Read more

Sort, Purge, and Emerge From Chaos

16, Mar 2005

Sort, Purge, and Emerge From Chaos was written by Julia Crawford and originally published in North Shore News. I pride myself on being a fairly organized person. Nonetheless, I seem to leave behind a trail of clutter wherever I go, like a silvery slug trail. Working from home, ongoing house… Read more